Olden Tales
by Summer-Rose-RWBY
Summary: A collection of the original versions of my works that I have since updated on this site. This intended for old readers to be able to have a version of the story they originally read and for all readers to be able to give me feedback on which version turned out best.
1. Sometimes Bad Things Just Happen

"We're going to lose." That was the one mind-numbing thought that overpowered anything else in Yang's mind as she looked across the battlefield. The swarm of Grimm was too large; there were thousands maybe even tens of thousands of Grimm prepared to devour their dead bodies.

Many might not have noticed, but she could see that slowly but surely they were being pushed back to the ship where they would inevitably be overwhelmed by the hordes of oncoming Grimm.

"We need a diversion," she thought "something to keep the Grimm at bay while the Bullhead takes off." But what could they do? She had to come up with something people's lives were on the line.

Yang couldn't think of anything as she held off her section of the swarm of Grimm. In the end, it looked like their journey would end here. "NO!" this wasn't about her if she failed here then not only would her friends die but Ruby would, and Yang would do anything to make sure Ruby could live her life.

And then suddenly an idea hit her, an idea that she knew would work.

With a wave of determination, Yang knew what she had to do.

She told the group that if they could start the Bullhead, then she could throw her arm off the ship and activate its self-destruct feature which would hold off the Grimm for enough time for them to escape.

Yang had never mentioned this feature to anyone before but, with no one else coming up with a suitable replacement plan they ignored their suspicions and agreed to follow through with her plan.

Then without everyone else noticing she gave Blake and Jaune a set of instructions that only they could complete, neither were particularly thrilled with their roles, but but they both replied with a glassy smile and salute which Yang returned.

Then as everyone got onto the ship and Nora and Ren provided cover fire, Ruby noticed that Yang wasn't making any move to get on, so she walked to the loading platform and asked: "Yang, what are you doing?"

Yang looked at her with a sad smile and said: "Ruby, I need you to listen to me, I need you to know that you can't blame yourself for any of the horrors this war has shown you or will show you; I need you to know that sometimes bad things just happen."

"Ok, Yang I get that but we can talk about this on the ship lets go," she said as she grabbed Yang's robotic arm.

"I love you" was all Yang said as she pushed Ruby back onto the ship and her hand slowly slipped from the redhead's grasp.

She proceeded to nod at Blake and Jaune who quickly began to fulfill their roles in her plan. Blake quickly turned on the Bullhead and started to lift the landing platform, and Jaune took hold of Ruby before she could try to grab Yang.

Then Yang gave the ship one final salute and then ran towards the approaching swarm. And as she activated her semblance and ran into the fray she smiled when she could hear the sounds of the Bullhead slowly dimming.

Then Yang fought till she had no energy left in her body and the corpses of Grimm littered the battlefield. And even then she made one final move. She imagined everything that happened.

Weiss's assassination during the defense of Atlas, Sun's sacrifice at Menagerie, Qrow's death at the siege of Mistral, Her dad's death at the hands of the White Fang. The anger kept building up and with it her semblance, but it wasn't enough she needed more, Pyrrha and Penny's death during the Vytal Festival, Raven abandoning her, Summer never coming home and last of all she imagined a dying Ruby at the hands of the Grimm.

So much Aura shot out of her body that all across the world people could see the giant pillar of flames that pierced the very sky above them, the entire world stood in awe as they witnessed Yang's last stand.

With her body completely drained Yang collapsed, and as her consciousness began to leave her, and the few remaining Grimm approached her she just said "I'm sorry Ruby, but it looks like sometimes ... sometimes bad things just happen."

Epilogue:

Years later a middle-aged woman with dark red hair and silver eyes walked across a luscious field.

She suddenly stopped when she stumbled upon a single unwavering tree in the high wind located in the middle of the vast meadow.

She walked towards it and at its base found an old bloodied atlas mechanical arm, and as she picked up this old tool she could only think of one thing, some of the last few words the woman had ever heard this equipment's owner say.

The woman chocked back a sob and spoke in the steadiest voice she could "Sometimes Bad Things Just Happen."

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**AN: New version can be found on my story titled Sometimes Bad Things Just Happen**


	2. Just Another Body In the Sea of Corpses

She clutched her stomach as red ran down her shaking hands.

How had it ever come to this?

The thought plagued her as her eye scanned the valley of blood and death.

Weren't they supposed to be heroes?

Weren't they supposed to save the world?

How could she save a world that was already dead?

She continued walking; she had to find them.

She had to make sure they were safe.

That was all that mattered.

She held on to that desire even as she walked over the spilt blood of the innocent.

She pushed through the smell of rotting corpses and the sound of bestial howls.

Please let the world just grant this one request.

But even that last hope was ripped to shreds.

She fell to her knees and let out a chocked gasp.

In front of her was just another body in the sea of corpses but not to her.

To her, this girl was everything.

So as she stared back into those cold dead silver eyes, she wept.

She wept until no more tears would come.

Her grief drew them to her.

Black towering beasts intent on her demise.

She didn't want to die.

She had so much left to do, so many words left unsaid.

She couldn't die here.

So she ran, and when she could no longer run she walked and when she could no longer walk she crawled and when she could no longer crawl she died.

And became just another body in the sea of corpses.

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**AN: New version can be found on my story titled The Adventures & Misadventures of RWBY**


	3. A Bright Future

Blake was annoyed.

She had just found a good book and her teammate was already pestering her.

"Blake come on there's something we want to show you!" said Ruby excitedly

She sighed, "Will you leave me alone if I go?"

"Yeah sure just come!" blurted Ruby

"Fine"

Blake marked her page and descended from her bunk.

Blake just hoped it would be quick as she started to follow Ruby.

Eventually, the two made it to the Beacon Academy cliffs where Yang and Weiss were already sat down.

"Hey Blakey you made it." grinned Yang

"What did you guys drag me all the way out here for?" asked Blake more than a little irritated.

"Just look." scoffed Weiss

Blake rolled her eyes and looked beyond the cliffside.

What she saw took her breath away.

The sun had risen just above the mountains to create an orange glow and a strange feeling of warmth.

Blake stunned sat down beside her teammates to bask in its brilliant light.

She had seen a sun like this before.

She and Adam had been roaming the beaches of Menagerie when they were entranced by a beautiful sunrise.

Back then, things had been different.

She shook herself from her thoughts and took in the scene before her.

Her teammates watched the sunrise in awe with smiles on their faces.

She smiled and joined them.

Why think of her dark past when she had such a bright future ahead of her?

* * *

**AN: New version can be found on my story titled The Adventures & Misadventures of RWBY**


	4. No More Masks

Weiss stared into the mirror and saw a mask.

The mask wore a confident smile the image of a person with power and pride.

It was without weakness, at the top of its class, untouchable.

The mask was in control, it walked over its opponents and broke through any obstacle.

The mask was popular; anyone would be lucky to associate with it.

The mask was free, it never took no for an answer and claimed any desire.

But in the end, that was all it was just a mask.

No such person ever existed.

All that lay behind the mask was a little girl.

A girl trapped in a lavish prison masquerading as a home.

The girl was defenseless and weak unable to stand up and oppose her captor.

So instead she wore the mask and lived a lie.

The lie of strength.

The lie of friendship.

The lie of freedom.

Weiss's fist shattered the mirror and with it the mask and the lie.

"No more masks."

* * *

**AN: New version can be found on my story titled The Adventures & Misadventures of RWBY**


	5. Another Drink

She motioned the bartender for another drink.

"You sure miss? It's getting late, and you've already had quite a bit."

"I pay you for alcohol not to question my lifestyle" she replied sourly

The bartender merely sighed and handed her another drink.

Suddenly the door burst open and what looked like four young adults walked in.

"What can I do for you?" asked the bartender

One member of the group a shorter woman answered: "Sorry if it's a bit late, but we just got our licenses and wanted to get a drink to celebrate."

She focused her eye a little, and she noticed it the group carried fairly standard hunter weapons she guessed they graduated from whatever huntsmen academy was closest to wherever she was.

"Oh it's quite alright you brave souls are what protect civilians like

me the least I can do is offer you some drinks" the bartender replied he then eyed her "Besides doesn't seem like I'm going to be closing anytime soon."

She snorted what a subtle way of telling her to hurry up and leave.

The group nodded said their thanks and took a seat.

She couldn't quite make out exactly what they were talking about, but it seemed to be about the heroism of the job and the cool adventures they would be having.

It made her want to vomit she thought she might have visibly gagged by the bartender's expression.

Suddenly there was noise in her ear she turned, and it looked like they were trying to talk to her she focused on the noise.

"Um hello?" asked a male member of the group.

"What?" She replied her voice so raspy she surprised herself

"Why are you out drinking? We were just wondering since we came to celebrate."

"I'm here to die of alcohol poisoning."

They laughed at what they assumed was a joke, but it died down when they saw that she hadn't joined them.

The kid tried to engage her in conversation once more "So you a Huntress?"

"Not anymore."

"Why?" The girl who had represented the group earlier asked

"Because what's the fucking point" she spat

"To be a hero." said the girl seemingly offended

"A hero?" She laughed "I don't know what imaginary world you live in missy, but there's no such thing."

"All Hunters and Huntresses are heroes!" Shouted the girl

She looked at the girl mockingly "That has to be one of the stupidest things I've heard in my life do you know how many Hunters and Huntress go rouge? Maybe you should do a school project on it."

The girl bristled and though her friends seemed to be trying to calm her "They aren't real Hunters and Huntresses real Hunters and Huntresses stand to protect the weak and fight evil and triumph."

She glared at the girl anger bubbling inside of her "Triumph?" She seethed "If by triumph you mean beating your opponent but watching everything you wanted to protect in the first place die than you're absolutely fucking right!" She roared.

The girl's friends backed away in fear, but to her credit, the girl only flinched.

"Would the people you were trying protect be proud of you now?" The girl shot back.

She growled as she shot out of her seat and reached for her weapon but then took a deep breath and put her hand down.

"No, they wouldn't be." She replied as the simmering anger left her eye leaving only one tired silver eye.

She threw some lien on the counter and stumbled out of the bar disappearing into the night.

* * *

**AN: New version can be found on my story titled The Adventures & Misadventures of RWBY**


	6. Its Beautiful Memory

The red liquid dripped from its lips as it savored the salty flavor of the meat in its mouth as it mixed with the delicious terror of its victim.

The woman had been caught off guard, and it had struck before she could activate her aura.

Its mighty jaws had torn off her arm, and she had tumbled to the ground.

She had tried to crawl away. It let her for a while as it feasted on her arm, tricking her into believing it had lost interest in her.

What she didn't know was that it was old and with its age, it had learned that the delicious prolonged terror of an escape almost successful was far more delicious than a quick feeding.

It marveled at how beautifully the red liquid stained the girl's once pristine white clothing.

It snapped its head in attention as it heard the sounds of footsteps nearby; it no longer had the time to play with its prey it seemed.

A pity.

It walked up to the girl without her noticing and tore into her back with its already bloodstained jaw.

The scream she let out as she died was delightful.

It was snapped out of its reminiscence.

Judging by the sounds of running it had attracted the owner of the footsteps from earlier.

Another girl though this one prepared, turned the corner and roared in rage as it saw the corpse of its victim.

The girl charged it at a speed it could barely comprehend but anticipating her attack, it attacked with all its strength, and with its ancient claws clawed out her eye.

It's satisfaction, however, was short-lived as a blade met its neck and it became no more.

* * *

**AN: New version can be found on my story titled The Adventures & Misadventures of RWBY now titled The Red Liquid Dripped**


	7. He Could Not Remember

It was with great sadness he realized that he could not remember who he used to be.

He remembered fighting a great evil, failing, dying, being cursed.

And then he was changed.

How? He couldn't quite remember.

He was once a soldier who rose through the ranks to become a general.

He was once a lord who amassed enough power to create a kingdom.

He was once a hermit who had a chance encounter with four beautiful young maidens.

He was once a king who led his nation through a great war and established peace.

He was once a huntsman who with unprecedented ability became a headmaster who accepted many talented individuals, including a girl with silver eyes and a golden smile whom he sent to her death.

He was once a farm hand who traveled with a simple soul and a constant reminder of a past mistake.

He had been all of these people as well as many others and would surely be many more.

But who was the man who had started the cycle?

What was his name?

What had he looked like?

He couldn't remember, and he had surely forgotten many others and would forget many more.

* * *

**AN: New version can be found on my story titled The Adventures & Misadventures of RWBY**


	8. Everyone had a Reason

Everyone had a reason to drink.

He heard that some drank to forget.

That others drank to remember.

He wasn't quite sure why he did.

It had started when his sister left; he was angry and frustrated, so he went to a bar to drown it out.

He might have let it consume him had she not been there.

She had come for him with her beautiful, sad smile and her warm embrace.

She pulled him up from his pit of despair and surrounded him with people he loved.

He stopped drinking after that, after all, why did he need a drink when he had her.

Then she died.

And he soon found himself in a bar once again, but this time there was no one to save him.

One day in a drunken haze he stumbled to a cabin in the woods just hoping that maybe if he wanted it enough, he would open that familiar cabin door and be greeted with her beautiful silver eyes just one more time.

He opened the door and was greeted by a pair of silver eyes just not the ones he wanted.

A little girl about five years of age sat on the couch all alone looking through a picture book.

Why was she all alone?

He found his answer as he looked through the house.

Her sister was asleep her face pressed into a tear-stained pillow and their father one of his closest friends was in a state not too dissimilar to his own consumed by the drink.

He returned to the living room and only then did the girl notice him "Uncle Qrow?" she asked with innocent eyes ignorant of the tragedy around her.

"Yeah, kid?" He replied his voice so raspy it could barely be understood

"Can I have some food? Mommy hasn't come back yet, so I tried to ask Dad but he doesn't hear me anymore, and Yang won't come out of her room."

Such a simple request stole his breath away. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why was he moping around in a bar when his precious little girls needed him.

He wrapped his arms around her as tears started to pour from his eyes "Sure kid."

"Uncle Qrow why are you crying?" She asked confused and worried

"It's nothing kid; I'll make you some lunch."

It was then that he decided that he would never abandon them again.

At first, he tried giving up the drink, but it somehow always found a way back to him.

He supposed Tai had beaten him in that regard.

While he had had to drag him from his pit once Tai was out, he never touched a drop again.

In the end, he wasn't sure why he still drank.

Was it to forget the pain or remember the joy?

In the end, it didn't matter because one thing was certain he would never let it consume him again.

* * *

**AN: New version can be found on my story titled The Adventures & Misadventures of RWBY**


End file.
